328 servicing

This is absolutely NOT the case - not just a Ferrari, but any car. Rubber, plastics, and fluids degrade over time - regardless of age.

 

Which are these 328 ? And don't go to this "garage" for your future car

 

As noted, mileage is not usually the deciding factor on these cars re rubber/fluids, etc since the cars typically get very little actual mileage and those items degrade anyway.

However, one thought re "service records." Evaluate the car, not the paperwork! Virtually anything you would be concerned about is easily checked before purchase.

 

Absolutely agree. Only an experienced owner or servicer can actually use service records to evaluate what should have been done to the car. But that is meaningless unless you can validate what has been done to the car. I have a buddy and current member of this forum who bought a 512BBI with stellar documented history. Most recent to the sale it had been subject of a $15,000 service at Ferrari of Atlanta. Within a year it became clear that major wasn't very through. He pulled the motor and we went through it with the support of such professionals as Paul Newman and David Feinberg, and at a level over and above anything Ferrari ever specified.

 

Read the first post in the 328 section. Loads of good info.

I agree with these comments, the paper work is just paper. Taking a car for a drive will tell you far more about the condition than what a piece of paper said happened 10 years ago. The condition today matters. Does the engine start and run smooth? Does it race right up through the RPM to red line? Does it blow smoke? Does it shift nice? Does the suspension feel tight? Oil leaking every where? Valves clicking? Instruments all working? Air conditioning working?

my 2 cents is your butt in the seat can tell you a lot about the condition of the car.

 

The reality is that most 308-328 's service books are not all up to date. If you by a 328 - look for a huge folder of service bills. that is nice but really does not guarantee you anything at this point. even if the car has been well looked after - and have $30k of routine service ... you are buying current condition. To have peace of mind - get a compression test and leak down. if that is ok then you are good. you will have to do electrical, and mechanical stuff over time. Suspension and brakes, and replace rubber hoses etc.. that is part of the ownership. but if you have good numbers on the compression test... then barring anything crazy you should be ok especially with a 328.

visually - if the car looks good and well kept -then it is. its hard to cover up real issues... you can tell pretty quick how well cared for the car is.. and the more miles the better - shows it was used. the worst thing is rotting in a warm garage.

 

So if you went through the service records of a car, and noted that it had had to have head gasket work carried several times in the past, so long as it appeared to be okay on the day you drove it, you'd have no concerns about the fact it has a history of head gasket failures?

Or if the cars service records showed an unusual number of wheel bearing replacements being carried out over the years, so long as the wheel bearings appeared to be okay on the day you drove it, you'd have no concerns as to why it needed so many bearing's replacing in the past?

How about if you test drive the car, it drives great, and the mileage on the odometer shows @30K miles, but when you check the service history, you note that there are mileages recorded as being over 70K miles? - No concerns? - Happy to pay the price of a 30K miles car for one that has over 70K miles actually on it?

Yes the current condition of the car is very important, which a test drive can demonstrate, but the service records can show if the car has had a history of problems. It can show if the car has been looked after or neglected over the years by previous owners. It can show if any major work has ever been carried.And if the mileage was recorded for each service/repair, it can indicate any possible mileage discrepancies.

Your butt in the seat is one tool for judging the condition of a car, your eyes are another tool, and the service records are a third tool - Personally speaking, I'd say when it comes to a Ferrari, the best option is to use all the tools available to judge the condition of a car.

 

I doubt the motor mounts have been replaced, thats needs to be done. My suspension went 100,000 miles, of which I logged 80k , over 22 years . I would also replace the clutch and acc cables, no doubt they have not been replaced . I would at least replace the shock , and suspension bushings, front and rear. No matter what the service records show, replace the cam belts and tensioner bearings, and the water pump, this way you dont have to worry about your motor seizing up. I would change the gearbox and motor oil as well. I dont believe anything unless I know it was done at a shop I trust , thats what I think of service records. Your buying a Ferrari thats at least 32 years old, if its an 89 28 , or older, your going to have to spend 1000s of dollars, no matter what, its that simple.

Thank you

 

Wow! quite a few leaps of assumptions there. I think you missed the point....

 

My cynical nature makes me wonder if the typical seller of any car is going to provide info that shows the car needed head gaskets (or any ongoing problems) multiple times. I suspect that any paperwork that tended to show a long term issue that might affect the sale would not be included in the maintenance history file.

 

Exactly. Just because the seller shows you a pile of receipts going back to year 1 doesn't mean the records are complete. Any paperwork that reveals a maintenenace issue that might concern a prospective buyer is likely to "go missing". Case in point: The first 911 I bought came with a 3" thick stack of maintenance records. Conveniently missing from that stack were the 14 pages of documentation of a collision that almost totalled the car. The collision repair shop doesn't report to Carfax, so the Carfax was clean. I didn't find out about the accident and major repair until almost a year later.

My current 328 has had about half of the front end of the car repainted. There's even an obscure reference on one of the repair receipts to a "body and paint repair"...but there is no paperwork whatsoever documenting any of this repair work, despite there being a 2" thick stack of records. I have no doubt the seller removed all traces of this detrimental incident from the car's history in an effort to conceal it.

Bottom line is that records are useful but can never be trusted to be complete, no matter how thick the stack is or how trustworthy the seller may seem. Even if the seller is honest, the owners previous to him may not have been. There may be demons in the car's past that even the current seller doesn't know about.

 

"Life is like a box of Chocolates, you never know what your going to get"

Forrest Gump

 

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My recommendation is always to find the competent service shop first, and *then* look for the car.

If you're looking at a 328, familiarize yourself with CIS injection.

Pretty much any 328 for sale will likely not have many recent miles.
People who drive their 328 often won't want to sell.
It's the people who realize that they're not driving it enough who will sell.